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  - RASHAD EVANS TKO'S FORREST GRIFFIN TO WIN TITLE
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
The "Ultimate Fighter" produced its second ever champion on Saturday night in front of 14,103 fans in Las Vegas as "Sugar" Rashad Evans defeated Forrest Griffin to win the UFC light heavyweight championship in the third round after a vicious ground and pound attack put a stop to the fight.
The test of a champion is always in a title defense and Forrest Griffin showed very well for himself in the early going of his fight against Rashad Evans using his reach advantage to land good punches and leg kicks in the first two rounds.
As Evans looked for just the right moment to unload a big punch, it was Griffin who controlled the first ten minutes of the fight with an outside striking game that kept his opponent off balance, while punishing his lead leg with kicks.
At the end of the 2nd round, Griffin hit Evans with a strong jab that opened a small cut over the Michigan native's eye that seemed to bother him as he headed to the corner.
It was the third round that Evans took control and finished the fight showing his prowess on the ground after putting Griffin on the mat. Evans admitted after the fight that he didn't have one specific gameplan going into the match-up, but wanted to take every advantage that opened up.
"I didn't want to go in there with one mindset to do anything because when you do that sometimes it messes you up when it don't go your way," Evans said.
A good strike put Griffin off balance as Evans took advantage of the position, landing in guard, but continued to stand up and throw big shots at every moment.
Eventually Evans loaded up with a big right hand that landed flush on Griffin's jaw, and within seconds the former "Ultimate Fighter" season 2 winner smelled blood in the water and began to throw huge punches going for the finish.
Griffin rolled and continued to eat punches until the referee stepped in to stop the punishment and Rashad Evans was declared the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
"That's that ground and pound that we learn at Jackson's," Evans professed after the title win. "Just get up and hit them. I knew I had him in trouble. He kept smiling so I didn't know, so I didn't know if he was hurt or not. They kept letting me hit him so I was like alright."
In a stacked 205lb weight class, Rashad Evans now stands as the king of the mountain claiming the UFC light heavyweight title in his first shot over a very tough and game Forrest Griffin.
"It was a great fight, Forrest gave me everything I could handle in those first two rounds," Evans commented about the win. "It took a while for me to get warmed up, but I got there."
A very gracious Forrest Griffin talked about the end of the fight while giving praise to Rashad Evans on a job well done.
"I'm not sure, when I went down I think I was hurt when I started guard cause that was a pretty pathetic, lazy guard," Griffin said of his performance. "Congratulations Rashad, he did a great job."
Now Rashad Evans will wrap possibly the most coveted UFC title around his waist while he waits for the next great contender to step up and face him as the 205lb champion.
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